Who do you think deserves the playoff berth—SMU or Alabama? The CFB world is in unrest with the College Football Playoff committee’s controversial decision. They snubbed Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide for the Mustangs despite their tougher schedule. Following the final rankings reveal, Alabama AD Greg Byrne felt “disappointed with the outcome.” But how did the committee come to this decision? 

To defend the decision, Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel spoke on behalf of the CFP committee, consisting of four coaches, four of five former football players, and eight athletic directors representing the Power Four and Group of Five conferences. In his YouTube appearance on The Rich Eisen Show on December 10, the CFP chairman said, “We’re here to really showcase the top 25 from the start after Week 8 all the way through to yesterday; our goal was to rank the top 25 as we saw them as a committee.” 

Warde Manuel also added that there have been no conference biases, but the outcome was a product of their individual team assessment. “If it happens that conferences are dominating the top 12 or the top 25, that’s just a factor of how they’ve played throughout the year. It has nothing to do with selecting, wanting certain numbers of conference teams in the playoffs,” he said. 

Both SMU and Alabama are close contenders with their own hype, but the CFP committee chose the Mustangs, who are 0-2 against ranked opponents while Alabama is 3-0. That’s where the outrage came from. The Crimson Tide’s strength of schedule ranks 18th toughest in the nation, while Rhett Lashlee’s team is 57th. But again, SMU has its own ups.

Why SMU-Alabama choice is hard

As far as the overall season records are concerned, SMU is the winner. They played 13 games and lost two, while Alabama played 12 and lost three. This extra game for the Mustangs was the ACC Championship game, where they suffered a close upset loss to Clemson, who ultimately clinched the No. 12 seed. 

That’s the reason in the first place that put SMU and Alabama in a position where either one of them should go. So the choice is tough, bringing more chaos to the already complex first 12-team playoff format. But Rhett Lashlee should be keen to uphold his statement when he said, “I just think America saw SMU belongs.”

All eyes will be on SMU now, who won the No. 11 seed. They’ll travel to Pennsylvania to face No. 6 Penn State for the first playoff round. Can they perform like the playoff team they’re chosen to be?